What Your Order Says About You, From a Vegas Cocktail Lounge
Work behind the bar at a Las Vegas cocktail lounge long enough and you develop a party trick: you can read a person from their first order. Not perfectly. But the drink someone reaches for at a bar they've never been to says more than they think it does, and our bartenders at Clique have had years on the casino floor at The Cosmopolitan to refine the theory.
So here it is. Find your order. We'll tell you who you are. We're right more often than you'll want to admit.
The Espresso Martini
You have plans. Not vague intentions — plans, possibly with a group chat attached. The espresso martini is the official drink of people who refuse to choose between being tired and being out, and you've decided the night is happening whether your body agrees or not.
You're also, statistically, the most fun person at your table between the hours of ten and one. What happens after that is between you and the Kahlúa.
The Dirty Martini
You know exactly what you want, and it's brine. Dirty martini people don't browse menus — you'd made this decision before you sat down, possibly before you left the hotel room. You are decisive, a little intimidating, and the best conversation at the bar.
If this is you, look at our Tiny Tinis before you default. The Hot & Dirty is your drink with cherry peppers and an attitude, served small enough to keep sharp from first sip to last. You'll respect it.
The Old Fashioned
You have opinions about how this drink should be made, and you're watching us make it. That's fine. We'd rather serve a hundred of you than one person who says "just something good."
Old fashioned people are patient, particular, and quietly keeping score. You tip well when it's right. It'll be right.
The French 75
You're celebrating something, even if the something is Tuesday. French 75 people understand that Champagne is not an occasion drink — it's an instrument for creating occasions. You are the friend who makes everyone else's night ten percent better just by being in it, and you've never once apologized for ordering the fancy thing.
The Margarita or the Paloma
You're the reliable one. Not boring — reliable. You know what you like, tequila likes you back, and while everyone else agonizes over the menu you've already ordered and started people-watching. Margarita people arrive on vacation already relaxed. Paloma people are margarita people who've done more research.
The Porn Star Martini
You came to Las Vegas correctly. This is a passion fruit cocktail that arrives with its own Prosecco sidecar, and you knew that when you ordered it — or you're about to find out, loudly. Either way, you're the person at the table most likely to start a conversation with strangers and win.
For the record: drink the shot alongside the cocktail, not after. You strike us as someone who'd want to do it properly.
The Golden Leaf
You read the menu. All of it. The Golden Leaf — Botanist gin, basil, cucumber, lemon — is the choice of someone who wanted the freshest thing in the building and found it on the first pass. You're observant, a little understated, and you'll be the only person at the table whose second drink is the same as the first, because you got it right the first time.
The Mishima Sunset
You're the curious one. Japanese whisky, grapefruit, hibiscus, yuzu, egg white — nobody orders this by accident. Mishima Sunset people ask the bartender questions and mean them, have a strong opinion about at least one city they've never lived in, and take the best photos at the table. The drink is beautiful. You knew it would be.
The Mango Sunfire
You like a drink that pushes back. Spicy mango vodka, tamarind, ginger — the heat builds, and that's the part you like. You're the friend who orders "medium spicy" and means "actually spicy," and your night tends to run longer than everyone else's. We're not judging. We're pacing you.
The Dill, Sour Cream & Onion Martini
You saw it on the menu, said "absolutely not," and ordered it four minutes later. Congratulations — you're our favorite kind of person. This drink is sour cream-washed gin with dill vermouth and green onion, it's our most argued-about creation, and it is ordered almost exclusively by people who claim to be ordering it as a joke.
Here's what we know that you don't yet: you're going to order a second one. Everyone does. The technique is called fat-washing, it gives the gin a weight and roundness you can't get any other way, and the joke stops being a joke around sip three. What's left is one of the most interesting martinis at any cocktail bar in the city. You're adventurous, you don't take yourself too seriously, and you make bars better by walking into them.
The Faux Real
You're not drinking tonight, and you refuse to be punished for it with a soda water and a lime. Good. The Faux Real — non-alcoholic blanco, passion fruit, Tajín — is a built drink, not an apology, and ordering it says you take the night seriously even when you're taking the alcohol out of it. You're probably the one getting everyone home safely, and someone at your table owes you brunch.
"Just Something Good — Surprise Me"
You trust people, which is lovely, and you've also just handed a stranger complete responsibility for your evening. Here's a better version of the same move, and it takes four seconds: give us a spirit, a direction, and a strength. "Gin, citrusy, not too sweet." "Whiskey, spirit-forward, make it count." Now we're not guessing — we're building. You'll get a better drink, and you'll still get the surprise.
Whoever You Are, We've Got Your Drink
The point of a good Las Vegas cocktail lounge isn't to serve one perfect drink. It's to have the right answer for whoever sits down — the planner, the celebrator, the skeptic who orders the sour cream martini on a dare. That's the whole design of our list, from the Timeless classics to the Clique Bait originals to the Sober Curious section.
Come find out how right we are about you. Clique is on the casino floor at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, open daily from four, no cover. Browse the full menu ahead of time, or don't — half the fun is ordering in front of us.
Want the deeper tour? Read what our bartenders would actually put in front of you, or see where Clique lands among the best Las Vegas lounges and cocktail bars.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the most popular cocktail at Clique?
The espresso martini and the old fashioned lead the classics. From our originals, the Golden Leaf is the most ordered — and the Dill, Sour Cream & Onion Martini is the most talked about, which is a different kind of popular.
What should I order if I don't know what I want?
Give the bartender three things: a spirit you like, a flavor direction (citrusy, bitter, herbal, spirit-forward), and how strong you want it. That's enough to build you something specific instead of guessing.
Does Clique have non-alcoholic cocktails?
Yes — two built zero-proof drinks in our Sober Curious section, the Faux Real and The Tease, alongside the usual beer, wine, and soft options.
Where is Clique Bar & Lounge?
On the casino floor at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, open daily from 4 p.m. with no cover charge.